The Rise of Social Media Jobs (What Every Small Business Should Know)

Everywhere you turn, social media is a hot topic of discussion. Companies are investing in social media and people with the skills to harness these new platforms are in high demand. As the importance of social media has grown through the years, the demand for content, and accordingly the need for bloggers or social media copywriters, has continued to rise.

However, that is not the only function that companies are investing in as social media departments grow and roles become more specialized. Additionally, there are now a number of sophisticated tools in the marketplace to help companies maximize the impact of their social media campaigns if they have the right people managing them.

Here is an outline of some critical social media positions that companies will be investing in this year.

Social Media Copywriter/Blogger

An effective social media strategy is always going to require content. Marketing and PR managers need writers who can develop engaging content for their audience. These positions require not only strong writing skills, but also the creativity to generate unique perspectives on the hot-button topics of the space a company is operating in. Companies need more content than ever, and this trend is only going to continue.

Social Media Marketing Managers/Coordinators

Social media marketing roles previously fell to somebody else within the marketing department or was a dual-role with social media copywriting in the past — but not any longer. Companies require talented people who understand how to leverage all of the relevant social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc. (and tools that exist to make the best use of them). Solutions like Everypost (Disclaimer: Everypost is a company I own.) have changed the way social media marketing managers can organize and execute social media strategies. The people who have built the skills to take advantage of these tools across platforms are in high demand.

Online Community Manager

This position is responsible for maintaining the online brand image of a company and they are specifically tasked with actively engaging the online community that surrounds their brand. This person must have their finger on the pulse of the discourse in their online communities and handle day-to-day conversations taking place. Responding to questions or complaints, as well as proactively identifying where opportunities for content generation lie are all critical functions within the broader social media strategy. As online communities grow, it becomes paramount that a company has somebody constantly monitoring and participating in those communities on a daily basis.

SEO Specialist

SEO contines to evolve … turning away from keyword-stuffing to a greater focus on value-added content. However, the flood of new websites that hit the web every day and the increased social media and SEO investments of competitors necessitates the role of SEO specialists. Ultimately, an SEO specialist is focused on increasing the search rankings for relevant search terms or phrases and improving the quantity and quality of traffic to the company’s website. In order to do this, the person needs to have both strong web skills and a strong understanding of marketing concepts, as they may wear various hats from basic programming to blogging depending on the allocation of responsibilities within the department.

Fernando Cuscuela is an experienced entrepreneur who likes nothing better than to start new businesses and make them profitable. He founded a successful digital media agency, Clickbunker, and most recently he started Everypost, a mobile social networking app that allows users to capture and create multimedia content and post to multiple social media networks..

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